Adult Yellow-legged Gull - I suppose...

31st July 2014 - Topsham

I paid my daily visit to the Ross's Gull. Today it was venturing further up river from its favourite spot opposite the Retreat, after nice close views on the shore by Newcourt Park (see photos below) it flew upstream and I followed, I found it feeding by the outflow north of the water treatment works.

On my way back I found this among the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the spit.

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

pres. Yellow-legged Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

The mantle is clearly darker than a Herring Gull and the legs are yellow (or yellowish, they are quite pale but that might not be unusual on a post-breeding bird), the bill looks a good shape, the orbital ring looks like it might be dark red (impossible to be sure from these photos) and there's a lot of black on the primaries - particularly so on P8. So why can't I just call it a Yellow-legged Gull? My suspicious mind - I've seen too many probable hybrids here in recent years, many of which have aroused doubt due to their odd primary pattern. The give away on most birds has been a broken black band on P5. The only problem with this moulting bird is that P5 is not visible yet (nor is P6). I waited a few minutes hoping it would fly and show the tip at least of a growing P5, I turned away for a few seconds and it vanished. I heard from Keith Birchall that an adult michahellis had been reported here the previous day, it might reappear.

Meanwhile, as promised, here's some more of the Ross's Gull. Still looking decidedly tatty but primary moult progressing nicely; P1-5 new, P6 growing (though still too short to see) and P7-10 old, still no change in the secondaries and tail feathers though.

Ross's Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 31/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull close up at the Recreation Ground

21st July 2014 - Topsham

 

After two months of regular appearances at Bowling Green Marsh and Goosemoor and with just two brief visits to the Rec - when I wasn't there,  I finally get to add Ross's Gull to my local patch list. Better still, it fed on the near shore and the rising tide brought it to within twenty feet or so - by a long way much the closest I've yet been to it and well worth the wait.

All photos enlarge when clicked.

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull - 21/7/2014 Topsham

It's still a fairly shabby looking bird, head feathers dropping off almost as I watched and scapulars very worn. Primary moult about halfway through - P1-4 new, P5 growing (just visible on right wing) and P6-10 brown and very worn. No sign of replacement in the secondaries or coverts yet and the tail feathers are all old.

Just got to hope it hangs around another couple of months to show a nice fresh winter plumage.

Microlarids

7th June 2014 - Topsham

Late morning Friday I'm looking over Bowling Green Marsh from the lane when Russ Eynon stops to say hello. The Ross's Gull is lying low and well hidden in the grass so he heads for the hide for a better view and promptly finds a 1st summer Bonaparte's Gull! To be fair, I hear it was on the far side of the pool so, as I'm currently scope-less, I wouldn't have bothered checking anything that distance, still a very good find. I missed the Bonaparte's on Friday but it came in again at high tide on Saturday, joining the now long-staying Little and Ross's Gulls for a convention of the World's Smallest Larids.

Here's the 1st summer Bonaparte's; slightly smaller than Black-headed, thin blackish bill, distinctly grey nape and hind neck and, just visible, blackish centred tertials and coverts.

Bonaparte's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Bonaparte's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Bonaparte's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Bonaparte's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Here's the Bonaparte's and the Ross's together (almost), the small white-headed Ross's is fairly obvious at the left and the Bonaparte's is towards the right with its head turning away.

Ross's Gull (left) and Bonaparte's Gull (right) - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

I managed to get a few more flight shots of the Ross's Gull, hard to pick out when the whole flock went up. All the primaries are extremely worn, I count only nine on the right wing so I presume primary moult has started with P1 growing.

Ross's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Ross's Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

The Little Gull is rather more advanced in its moult, all three inner primaries dropped and/or growing as is the new white central tail feather.

Little Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

Little Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

And finally a fluke shot of Little and Ross's - the World's two smallest gulls - together.

Ross's Gull 2cy and Little Gull 2cy - 7/6/2014 Topsham BGM

And the three all together in the same photo? There's still a chance.

Ross's Gull

7th June 2014 - Topsham

 

In between working on a plate of Great Shearwaters for 'The Tubenose Handbook' and cycling to and from to BGM and just missing the 1st summer Bonaparte's Gull, I took a break to do this pencil drawing of the Ross's Gull.

Ross's Gull - Topsham BGM 3/6/2014

More Ross's Gull

2nd June 2014 - Topsham

Still can't get enough of this bird, I've dropped in at least once a day since last Wednesday in the hope of more and closer views. It's very loyal to the site, arriving at high tide with the regular flock of Black-heads plus the somewhat less reliable Little Gull.

It's not showing a typical 1st summer plumage - according to the books - and shows no obvious signs of moult. There's still a few dark juvenile feathers on the crown and has no apparent dark necklace. The flight feathers - especially the outer primaries - are extremely worn and surely it should start to replace them soon.

There's been plenty of photos about over the last few days, here's a few sketches.

Ross's Gull - Topsham 29th May 2014

Ross's Gull - Topsham 30th May 2014

Ross's Gull - Topsham 31st May 2014

Ross's Gull - Topsham 2nd June 2014

Ross's Gull

29th May 2014 - Topsham

Sometimes I wish I could invoke the 'two bird theory' of my blog title but, to be honest, it's best just to admit a mistake and try to learn from it. So here's my confession, my self-criticism, my part in the affair.

Yesterday evening 28th May I was called down to the Bowling Green Marsh hide to look at a small gull. Two Little Gulls had been reported on and off for about a fortnight - I'd seen one a week or so previously and was happy with it as a 2cy Little. Someone (massive kudos to them but not sure who, can anyone tell me?) had suggested one of the 'Littles' looked like a Ross's Gull, so a number of us locals gathered to try and settle the matter(!?).

My initial views - in fact my only views that first evening - were poor, the bird was always distant, frequently hidden by vegetation or other gulls and often head on. I got a few photos but nothing very useful.

Ross's Gull 2cy - 28/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 28/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 28/5/2014 Topsham

It clearly wasn't the gull I'd seen previously and it did look nice and white-headed and the wings appeared long and not quite how a Little Gull should look, I thought maybe it was a Ross's after all. Then I started to have doubts, the crown showed quite a bit of dark feathering from some angles and the bill looked a little too long maybe, at times there was a suggestion of a faint necklace but it was easy to put that down to posture and displaced feathers. It once and very briefly took off and landed but the only conclusion that could be drawn from a very blurred photo (courtesy of Dave Stone) was that there appeared to be a faint dark secondary bar and what I'd thought was a wedge-shaped tail looked more likely to be due to moult or feather breakage. Given all this the general conclusion was that it was most likely a somewhat odd Little Gull.

It still bothered me that I/we hadn't conclusively ruled out Ross's as the tail had not been properly seen so first thing this morning (29th May) I went down for another look. On the way I got a couple of calls telling me the bird had been reported as a definite Ross's Gull. A little puzzled, I got into the hide and soon found the subject in exactly the same spot giving exactly the same sort of views. Soon Matt Knott arrived and as we discussed the bird it took wing and I blasted off a few shots. A quick look at the back of the camera told me I'd got what I was after - a classic black-tipped diamond-shaped tail. So we'd got it wrong but it was a Ross's Gull after all.

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

So, no doubt about that then and I just wish we'd had views like that the night before - it might have saved a bit of embarrassment.

Shortly after it flew across the marsh to feed in a small pool. It really didn't like the Black-headed Gulls and would often chase them off, helpfully providing much better views of the upperwings with white extending well towards the outer primaries and a diagnostic black patch on the back/rump.

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

Ross's Gull 2cy - 29/5/2014 Topsham

With hindsight I can now appreciate how different in shape it is to a Little Gull,  particularly the length of the wings and the shape of the head. And is that a faint hint of pink on the breast? So despite what was a bit of a cock-up on the ID front (guilty, your honour), nobody got hurt, I don't think anyone missed it because of a wrong call and it's a fantastic bird and a great find - and I can still hope it might just turn up at the Rec.